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Auto Zone... Woman style

select-fireselect-fire Member Posts: 69,529 ✭✭✭✭
edited June 2008 in General Discussion
Took a 6 month old battery in Auto Zone. Young woman manager tests battery.. It is dead. She says it is the cars fault. Doesn't even ask what kind of car blah blah blah... Says something is pulling current and drained it. I said the alternator was showing charge but the battery just went dead. She says the alternator has nothing to do with the battery. Where TH do they get these people to run the stores?

Comments

  • Marc1301Marc1301 Member Posts: 31,895 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by select-fire
    Took a 6 month old battery in Auto Zone. Young woman manager tests battery.. It is dead. She says it is the cars fault. Doesn't even ask what kind of car blah blah blah... Says something is pulling current and drained it. I said the alternator was showing charge but the battery just went dead. She says the alternator has nothing to do with the battery. Where TH do they get these people to run the stores?
    Possibly some of your evicted tenants?[8D]
    "Beam me up Scotty, there's no intelligent life down here." - William Shatner
  • jimdeerejimdeere Member, Moderator Posts: 26,285 ******
    edited November -1
    There's a new Auto Zone near us that has a young lady who knows her stuff. If I go there for a part, I usually mill around until she can help me. The men ain't worth squat. One guy about 50 didn't know that Acura was a division of Honda.
  • select-fireselect-fire Member Posts: 69,529 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Marc1301
    quote:Originally posted by select-fire
    Took a 6 month old battery in Auto Zone. Young woman manager tests battery.. It is dead. She says it is the cars fault. Doesn't even ask what kind of car blah blah blah... Says something is pulling current and drained it. I said the alternator was showing charge but the battery just went dead. She says the alternator has nothing to do with the battery. Where TH do they get these people to run the stores?
    Possibly some of your evicted tenants?[8D]


    My guess is she used to be a HVAC worker.[:0] freon must have froze her brain..
  • Marc1301Marc1301 Member Posts: 31,895 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Very few females in the AC trade,.......but a funny jab![:D]

    I have witnessed the same stupidity many places. I guess the companies only want to pay 10 bucks an hour for managers in some businesses. Not like it used to be when you go into an auto parts store.
    "Beam me up Scotty, there's no intelligent life down here." - William Shatner
  • 1911a1-fan1911a1-fan Member Posts: 51,193 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    i think they have a scam going on, i have never met anyone that has had a battery or alternator tested there, and had it pass
  • KEVD18KEVD18 Member Posts: 15,037
    edited November -1
    well we've never met, but i have had a battery tested there and had it pass
  • Gregor62Gregor62 Member Posts: 3,144 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by select-fire
    Took a 6 month old battery in Auto Zone. Young woman manager tests battery.. It is dead. She says it is the cars fault. Doesn't even ask what kind of car blah blah blah... Says something is pulling current and drained it. I said the alternator was showing charge but the battery just went dead. She says the alternator has nothing to do with the battery. Where TH do they get these people to run the stores?


    Auto Zone should be ashamed for taking quality managers away from McDonald's!
  • soopsoop Member Posts: 4,633
    edited November -1
    I went to Auto Zone to have them check as to why my service engine soon light came on.I stood in line till it was my turn.The guy plugged in to the dash and says you have a fuse blown.I can`t do anything until you change the fuse.I had just bought the truck and told him I didn`t know where the fuse block was.He pointed to the area as he walked away.
    I was pizzed that he couldn`t take a moment longer to see this through. I didn`t have a replacment fuse ,so I went back in and found them,stood in line again and payed for them.Then I went outside and replaced it.
    I then went back inside and stood in line a third time to ask again to have them run a diagnostics test. After waiting my turn ,the guy at the counter says "you`ll have to wait until the other people behind you are cleared out.Wait outside and I`ll send the next available person out to help you.
    So I waited in line three times to be told you aren`t next until the guys behind you are taken care of.
    I haven`t been back.
  • dheffleydheffley Member Posts: 25,000
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by select-fire
    Took a 6 month old battery in Auto Zone. Young woman manager tests battery.. It is dead. She says it is the cars fault. Doesn't even ask what kind of car blah blah blah... Says something is pulling current and drained it. I said the alternator was showing charge but the battery just went dead. She says the alternator has nothing to do with the battery. Where TH do they get these people to run the stores?


    Well, the alternator doesn't have anything to do with the drain on the battery, just the recharging of it.

    Real simple test to see if there is an excessive drain on the system, but most likely, it's just the battery.
  • CHEVELLE427CHEVELLE427 Member Posts: 6,750
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by soopershot
    I went to Auto Zone to have them check as to why my service engine soon light came on.I stood in line till it was my turn.The guy plugged in to the dash and says you have a fuse blown.I can`t do anything until you change the fuse.I had just bought the truck and told him I didn`t know where the fuse block was.He pointed to the area as he walked away.
    I was pizzed that he couldn`t take a moment longer to see this through. I didn`t have a replacment fuse ,so I went back in and found them,stood in line again and payed for them.Then I went outside and replaced it.
    I then went back inside and stood in line a third time to ask again to have them run a diagnostics test. After waiting my turn ,the guy at the counter says "you`ll have to wait until the other people behind you are cleared out.Wait outside and I`ll send the next available person out to help you.
    So I waited in line three times to be told you aren`t next until the guys behind you are taken care of.
    I haven`t been back.


    AUTO ZONE's do like to have you stand lines.


    about the same here, another reason i try to not shop there
  • FEENIXFEENIX Member Posts: 10,559 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by dheffley
    quote:Originally posted by select-fire
    Took a 6 month old battery in Auto Zone. Young woman manager tests battery.. It is dead. She says it is the cars fault. Doesn't even ask what kind of car blah blah blah... Says something is pulling current and drained it. I said the alternator was showing charge but the battery just went dead. She says the alternator has nothing to do with the battery. Where TH do they get these people to run the stores?


    Well, the alternator doesn't have anything to do with the drain on the battery, just the recharging of it.

    Real simple test to see if there is an excessive drain on the system, but most likely, it's just the battery.


    Not entirely true, a bad alternator can cause a battery module/cell to go bad. Likewise, a bad battery can eventually cause the alternator (i.e. diode) to go bad.

    Added:

    What is an Alternator?
    An alternator is the base of the charging system of your car. Not only is it integral to all of the electric systems of your car - the radio, the lights, the fan etc. - it also keeps your battery charged. When cars were first built, car manufacturers actually used small generators for their electrical systems. Alternators offer more efficient power and they are also safer. When your car alternator fails, so does your car as your battery is completely depleted.

    When your battery light goes on, it may be the battery, but 9 times out of 10 it has something to do with a failing alternator.
    What To Do If Your Alternator is Failing
    Is your car having the following symptoms?
    Dim lights
    Hard starting
    Dead batteries

    This may mean your alternator is on its way out! Here is how to troubleshoot:
    1. Grab a simple multimeter, digital or otherwise
    2. Check for loose connections to and from the battery, to an from the alternator etc.
    3. Once you have established that the connections are secure, measure the battery voltage with your multimeter when the car is on and off (maintain all safety precautions).
    4. Measure the voltage from the output of the alternator.

    Chances are you are going to see a problem with the battery or with the alternator because issues with your electrical systems usually come from one of four things:
    Battery
    Alternator
    Short Circuit
    Bad Voltage Regulator (in the classics)

    http://autoparts.lifetips.com/cat/61686/alternators/
  • Colt SuperColt Super Member Posts: 31,007
    edited November -1
    Awww....Schuck's.

    Doug
  • select-fireselect-fire Member Posts: 69,529 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Well they had it for 2 hours to charge it. Battery was 6 months old. It would not hold a charge. 3 yr. warranty Duralast. They gave me a brand new identical one. It is on the trickle charger now to make sure it is fully charged before I put it in.
  • dheffleydheffley Member Posts: 25,000
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by select-fire
    Well they had it for 2 hours to charge it. Battery was 6 months old. It would not hold a charge. 3 yr. warranty Duralast. They gave me a brand new identical one. It is on the trickle charger now to make sure it is fully charged before I put it in.


    That's one way to prove it to them![:D]
  • fishkiller41fishkiller41 Member Posts: 50,608
    edited November -1
    The local "Auto Zone" here in West Palm offers FREE Computer diagnostic checks. They take the hand-set out to your car/truck and hook it up, then they take it inside and upload all the data to their "Base" computer. You buy the part, and go on your way.
    The FORD dealer wanted $90 to plug it into the machine, then $75 an hr. to replace the part.(1 hr. minimum)
    It was the "Intake air temp. sensor". I fixed it for $15!! AUTO ZONE is the place to go,here.
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